Taps (1981)

Director:

Harold Becker

Writers:

Devery Freeman (novel)
Robert Mark Kamen (writer)

Release Date:

20 December 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

This school is our home, we think it's worth defending.

Plot:

Military cadets take extreme measures to insure the future of their academy when its existence is threatened by local condo developers.

Plot Keywords:

Military | Military Academy | Tragic Events | School Closing | Teen

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe.

Cast

George C. Scott	...	General Harlan Bache
Timothy Hutton	...	Cadet Major Brian Moreland
Ronny Cox	...	Colonel Kerby
Sean Penn	...	Cadet Captain Alex Dwyer
Tom Cruise	...	Cadet Captain David Shawn
Brendan Ward	...	Charlie Auden
Evan Handler	...	Edward West
John P. Navin Jr.	...	Derek Mellott
Billy Van Zandt	...	Bug
Giancarlo Esposito	...	Cadet Captain J.C. Pierce
Donald Kimmel	...	Billy Harris
Tim Wahrer	...	Cadet Major John Cooper
Tim Riley	...	Hulk
Jeff Rochlin	...	Shovel
Rusty Jacobs	...	Rusty

Also Known As:

The Siege at Bunker Hill: T.A.P.S (UK) (TV title)

Runtime:

126 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | UK:PG | USA:PG (certificate #26439) | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Tom Cruise was originally going to play a background character in the film, but Director Harold Becker was so impressed by the way he conducted himself as one of the military cadets during rehearsals that he was offered the part of David Shawn. At first Cruise refused and then was finally convinced by Becker and Producer Stanley R. Jaffe play the role.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Major Mooreland is arguing with his father, he yells "Capt. Shaun! Escort my escort...!" (The line was intended to be "Capt. Shaun! Escort my father...!")

Quotes:

Brian Moreland: I don't ever want to see what I just saw out there.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Home Improvement: Taps (#6.24)" (1997)

Mixed feelings

Having graduated from a military academy and later joining army ROTC myself it was almost like I was living back at my high school again. Especially due to the fact that I was a company commander my senior year and had my best friends as platoon leaders and XO. I got a much different take on the movie than most of you. It is one that was much more prevalent in the military academy I to than ROTC. Rather than a view of "misguided youths" (I would argue the point that they were misguided) I saw the movie as fight between the old and the new. The old conservative ways versus the post Vietnam War era generation. Whether to preserve conservative tradition or to continue with social liberalism. In the movie the fight was about tearing down the academy to build condominiums. In real life where I was, it was about turning our military academy into a normal prep school. In my case the fight didn't get violent, however like the cadets in the movie I picked the losing side.

In the movie I was heart broken that the governor would send troops to the school rather than try and work out a peaceful compromise when he saw the measure that people were willing to go to in order to protect their school. In real life I was very disheartened to see the old cadre of retired military officers get sacked and replaced by "soft" civilian administrators. It all hit a climax when one of my life's role models, a retired USAF Major and our companies tactical officer, spoke out against some of the changes being made and got himself sacked. For me that was George C Scott, Penn and Cruise were my friends and platoon leaders in my company and the crisis between the old ways and the new ways were very much the same. The movie reached out to me possibly more than any other. It was seeing my teenage self all over again.